Human history is punctuated by disruptive innovations in media technology. The introduction of written language transformed oral cultures and traditions beginning around 3200 BC, and led scholars like Plato to lament its impact on human memory and true mastery of knowledge. Access to written language remained limited for nearly 5000 years, but its impact on human culture was profound. The invention of the movable type press in the 15th century AD radically expanded access to the artifacts of printed language, but perhaps even more importantly its authorship and production. This was widely disruptive of the existing order and its economic and political systems.
We commonly think of the introduction of the Gutenberg Press around 1439 as marking a clean historical turning point in the production of and access to books. But most early printed books mimicked the work of scribes, in essence merely automating the scriptorium. As Jeff Jarvis notes, “printing was initially promoted as automated writing.” New forms of authorship, printing, and distribution didn’t take shape until some 50 years later. What we know today as the “book” wasn’t born with the moveable type press, but only as more people began to understand what they could do with print.
We are living in a time that parallels that post-Gutenberg moment. Today the disruptive technology is commonly represented by the Internet. In reality, we are facing a bundle of disruptive technologies predicated on the digital computer linked to instantaneous global networks. Anyone can now create any form of media, any time, and share it with anyone. This is a new situation for human culture. And much like people living at the time of the birth of the printing press, we don’t yet know quite what to do with the new media technologies of our day.
The College of Media has tremendous expertise in journalism, media production, advertising, and research. Illinois Public Media is a professional public media organization working to serve our community through works of journalism, arts and cultural programming, and audience engagement. We have an opportunity to combine research and teaching with professional practice, engaging with both the academic community and audiences throughout central Illinois and beyond. Together we can be innovators in defining the new forms of media and storytelling made possible by digital technology and the Internet. This starts by acknowledging what we, and the rest of the world, don’t yet know.
We propose in this project to explore new territory: new forms of telling stories, producing content, and engaging audiences using digital tools and networks. We see opportunities to use existing tools and forms of innovation, such as content management systems like WordPress, Omeka, and Scalar; social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram; story formats like The New York Times' “Snowfall” piece and its descendants, Storify, Medium, or Zeega; and data journalism projects like lobbyingmissouri.org. We also recognize that these tools and forms are only today’s examples of the tools and forms yet to come, as we work to more clearly understand what we can do with digital technology and networks.
We propose to explore this terrain with a purpose: To learn, innovate, and share.
Methodology of the Digital Story Lab
The DSL will be a working space in Campbell Hall. It will be open to anyone in the College of Media. The Principals of this project will maintain the space of the DSL, and guide learning and innovation activities within it. We will establish weekly times when DSL Principals will be leading the lab, beginning with each Friday from 3:30 to 5 pm. Other times may be scheduled as participants join in DSL activities, but the lab space itself will always be open during regular office hours.
We envision the DSL as an open and welcoming space for Faculty, Students, and Staff. We will use the DSL as a focal point for cross-disciplinary and cross-departmental collaboration. We’ll host training sessions on topics such as Google Analytics, social media, digital video, Github, and data journalism. We’ll provide opportunities for open discussion of new technologies and challenges, and begin to identify new areas of collaborative focus.
In the first phase of our work, we’ll explore the current landscape of digital and social media tools, forms, formats, and networks. We’ll identify elements that are becoming stable and mature, and those that are likely more ephemeral. We’ll focus on skills and approaches to digital media work that lend themselves to effective practices. And we’ll develop curricular materials that can be shared and used in College of Media classes and other pedagogical settings.
In the next phase, we’ll begin to focus on forms for digital storytelling. We’ll use existing tools and techniques, but also seek to develop new ones. We’ll begin to collaborate with and integrate WILL News reporting projects (and other College Collab Grant projects), and invite participation by students doing production projects as part of their coursework in the College of Media. Eventually the Digital Story Lab can evolve into a resource for digital media tools, techniques, and instruction throughout the College of Media. Future grant-funded projects, and collaborations with other colleges such as Computer Science, may be informed and enabled by the work of the Digital Story Lab.
Expectations for the DSL
The purpose of the DSL is to learn, innovate, and share. Our focus is storytelling with digital media. We will seek new forms of journalism, advertising, and engagement, but there is no expectation that a given activity must result in a product. We expect to fail fast and often. Over time, we will gain deeper knowledge and insight into the tools at hand, and the skills and crafts of digital storytelling and engagement. We expect DSL participants to share in the learning and exploration, and to share the results.
At a minimum we’ll develop documentation, learning modules, and curricular materials that will address needs already expressed by faculty, students, and staff throughout the College/Illinois Public Media. We hope over time to innovate new models of storytelling and digital media engagement, and to build on the strengths we already have as journalists, storytellers, communicators, and educators in the digital media age.
Overview of Collaboration
- Jack Brighton will lead the organization of the Digital Story Lab, facilitate its regular sessions, and manage participation and access.
- Nancy Benson will teach and participate in DSL projects, and incorporate DSL activities in her instruction of graduate students and course syllabi.
- Tim Meyers will serve as a key participant in DSL research and instruction, and provide expertise in digital media production and storytelling.
- Jennifer Follis will serve as co-instructor in the DSL, leading sessions with students and facilitating collaboration in the College of Media.
Facilities
We already have a suitable working space for the DSL in a working area outside Room 122 in Campbell Hall. This is an open area with desk space and an abundance of network connections. The only needed additions are a large video display for group viewing of digital content and anything that can be seen in a web browser, and a Chromecast device for wireless connection from any laptop, phone, or tablet to the large video display.
This project will benefit from the past several years of investments made by the College of Media/Illinois Public Media in virtual servers and digital storage. In terms of the facilities needed for digital media innovation, we can quickly stand up servers and software applications to support a broad range of experiments and collaborative media projects. The DSL will be able to leverage these resources as we explore different web publishing and storytelling platforms, production tools, and presentation methods. As we discover successful new modes of production and models of storytelling, we’ll enable more effective use of the College’s digital infrastructure throughout the College.
Following formal completion of the project, the Digital Story Lab and its facilities will continue to be available to anyone in the College of Media (Faculty, Students, and Staff). We believe the need for this type of collaboration space will only grow, and may lead to further grants from external funding sources, expanded facilities, and projects with faculty from other colleges. We intend the DSL to be an incubator of greater things, and to evolve and scale as opportunities and needs arise.